Software Carpentry aims to help researchers get their work done in less time and with less pain by teaching them basic research computing skills. This hands-on workshop will cover basic concepts and tools, including program design, version control, data management, and task automation. Participants will be encouraged to help one another and to apply what they have learned to their own research problems.

This workshop will cover automating tasks with the Unix shell, version control with Git, and an introduction to R.

Who: The course is aimed at graduate students and other researchers. You don’t need to have any previous knowledge of the tools that will be presented at the workshop. Registration for both days is mandatory. Please do not register if you cannot attend both days.

Off-campus access to licensed library resources is limited to UC San Diego faculty, staff and students, and is operated by UC San Diego’s Educational Technology Services. Visit library.ucsd.edu/spaces/computing/remote-access/ detailing the available methods and simple procedures for setting it up.

The preferred method is through the VPN AnyConnect (client) – used for your own personal computer. Go to the webpage above and download the VPN software for your operating system to gain full access to all of the library’s resources and databases, including journals and digital reserves.

From a public computer, use the VPN EasyConnect (web-based) method by going to vpn.ucsd.edu. This method limits your access to selected resources and databases.

For both of these sites, you’ll be required to enter your email/Active Directory (AD) username and password.

Posted On: July 27, 2015

Did you know that in 2008, the smoking prevalence among young adults in California declined to 13.4 ± 0.9 percent from the peak in 1999 of 18.8 percent? Or that African American young adults had the lowest current established smoking rate among all racial/ethnic groups? Now you can access all of these facts and more in the newly available California Tobacco Survey collection in the Library’s Digital Collections (http://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb5086895c). Not only are the reports available; the data itself is downloadable.

The surveys go beyond simple smoking statistics. They explore the impact of tobacco advertising, and investigate the behaviors and attitudes that impact tobacco use. In 1992, the largest percentage of teens aged 16-17 endorsed two to three “rebelliousness items.” And the largest percentage of teens who did much better than average in school also fell into the two to three rebelliousness item endorsement range! What are these mysterious rebelliousness items? (Hint: check out Table A4 in the 1992 Final Report http://library.ucsd.edu/dc/object/bb38582123)

In 1990, over 90% of both girls and boys rated “Girls controlling weight” as the number one health concern among California teens, well above “Dangers of drunk driving” and “Boys controlling weight.”

The smoking information comes from the ongoing California Tobacco Survey, a survey of California residents about smoking that takes place approximately every three years. The years 1992-2008 are now available in the Library’s Digital Collections, and contain not only reports, but the actual data, which can be downloaded and explored.